Will my Pullets still go broody?

[ChicksN Coffee]

I have no roos, so no possibility of fertilized eggs in my small flock. If my 3 go broody will they stop laying immediately. And wht do we do about it?

 

[LoveThemBirds]

They will not lay,but may for their hatch.If you want them not to brood,dip yheuon water,and block of the nest theu brood in.

 

[aart]

They will not lay,but may for their hatch.If you want them not to brood,dip yheuon water,and block of the nest theu brood in.

Dipping a broody hen in cold water would be a last resort......there are much better ways to break a broody hen.

I have no roos, so no possibility of fertilized eggs in my small flock. If my 3 go broody will they stop laying immediately. And wht do we do about it?

The likelihood of all 3 of your hens going broody at the same time is slight, unless you have silkies or another notoriously broody breed.

Breaking a broody can be pretty easily accomplished by placing them in a wire bottom cage set up off the ground with no bedding. Best if you can keep the breaker cage right in the coop, so reintegration issues are not as severe.


My experience went like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest, I put her in a wire dog crate with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a few bricks right in the coop and I would feed her some watered down crumble a couple times a day.

I let her out a couple times a day and she would go out into the run, drop a huge turd, race around running, take a vigorous dust bath then head back to the nest... at which point I put her back in the crate. Each time her outings would lengthen a bit, eating, drinking and scratching more and on the 3rd afternoon she stayed out of the nest and went to roost that evening...event over, back to normal tho she didn't lay for another week or two.

 

[ChicksN Coffee]

Thank you very much folks. You are very helpful.

 

[krista74]

A picture of a bird in a broody box - just in case!



The cage should have enough room for the bird to stand and move about. There should be a fine wire base so as not to hurt their feet. A roof should be put over the cage (a sheet of tin will do, or an old bed sheet) to provide protection from the sun. If it's freezing cold or raining you can set it up in a garage, otherwise position it in a cool spot in your run where the other chickens can see her and she has some company. The cage should also be raised up on blocks to allow the cool breeze to flow underneath her.

The only things that go in the cage are feed, water in a large container that won't tip over, and your bird. No bedding at all - you want your hen to sit on the wire base and have her rear end cooled off! That's what will break her broodiness in the end. You can throw in a tomato or other foods to keep her occupied, but for the most part they are quite happy to be in their own little area. It does take them an hour or two to settle in but after that they adjust well.

Leave the bird in the cage for 48 consecutive hours. After that, take her out and watch what she does. If she runs back to the flock, she's busted. If she heads straight for the nest she is still broody, which means you pick her up and put her back in the cage. Test her every 24 hours after that to see how she's doing. Normally a buster cage works in 3 or so days. However, if the weather is really hot it can take up to a week. The water dunking should be a last resort, although I have used it in circumstances where it's really hot and the buster cage alone is not enough.

- Krista